Falling for a Muggle
by DragonG
Summary: Two foes discover true and powerful emotions...
1. Default Chapter

Prologue:   
  
They had been left into the darkness to suffer from the bitter cold. And darkness had never felt like that before, silent, sad... deadly. There was only enough light to reveal two pairs of eyes, fixed on each other. They were only staring now, revealing no emotion, no thought. They were unable to think, unable to believe. How could they believe their end was inevitable now?  
  
Her wound was lethal. She knew that and so did he. Fragile as she was left, she didn't have enough strength to deny it any longer. But he wouldn't accept it. He couldn't. He had remained frozen, bent over her. He kept looking into her eyes and then at her wound, again and again, unable to think, to move, unable to do something, help her in any way possible. He placed her loose in his arms, like a cracked porcelain doll, afraid that she would break if he held her tighter. But she tried to hold him close, make him share some of his remaining strength, some of his warmth with her, as she felt colder and colder. She tried to make him grab her, for one last time, kiss her, tell her that everything would be all right, even if this was clearly a lie now.  
  
She had felt the pain, yet now the pain was leaving her. And she knew that this wasn't good. Her end was drawing closer. Her blood was still flowing, spreading on the cold stone floor, like spilled red wine, losing it's life force as it abandoned her body. She was loosing the warmth of her cheeks, the redness of her lips. Too much blood on the floor... Nothing would remain there soon, nothing but an empty body, no soul left to occupy it, empty. The blood was on her clothes, her waving hair. And it was on his hands, the hands that had tried desperately to stop her from bleeding. The hands that had failed to do so. He was wounded too, but his injuries were healing fast. His pure wizard blood mixed with hers as he held her. "You see my love? It's the same..." Draco heard her whisper breathlessly.  
  
And then, for the very first time in his life, his tears were too strong to restrain. They burned his skin, forming the deepest scar sorrow could ever create. Pure drops of sadness. He felt so very weak. Since he could remember, he had had anything he wanted. And now, the only thing his heart had ever truly desired was leaving him. He felt as if the spreading blood was flowing from his hart. And he could do nothing to stop it. Nothing but observe... His eyes met hers. And through his blurry vision he saw her longing for a trace of warmth in his ice blue glance, something to remember now that she was leaving him. She wished for anything that would bring back the sparkle into the remains of her life, if only for a moment. But only frustration was concealed in the frozen lake within his glance. Frustration was all he could offer her.  
  
But let us travel very far. Not in place, but in time, far from this sorrow... We see her smiling as she' s trotting down the stairs of Hogwarts, with eyes so bright and a luminous face so very alive as she's moving. The young girl almost does not fit into this setting. She is too alive for the crumbling old school and the ancient dusty halls. She is carrying a huge pile of books. Heavy knowledge, just light reading for her. Such a magnificent brain, hidden into this pretty girly head. Yes, it is clear now that she has blossomed during the summer. The girl will be a beautiful woman soon. Heading to the library with haste, where she will meet with her friends. She didn't have the chance to see Harry and Ron during the summer... And all looks well! And she seems happy, she is happy! We find ourselves watching her one year earlier. All is set for their new school year. But yet, this year will be much different for her. Everything is about to begin... 


	2. Meetings

She had surely changed. But then, it seamed that everybody else had changed too. There was a strange feeling in the air now that it was their last year at school. Somehow every unpleasant thought had simply vanished, leaving behind only cheery, vivid memories of the fun and happy times in their lives. They didn't want this to end after all and they were all anxious about the "so, what's next?" issue. Somehow a single summer had had a tremendous effect on them! They didn't feel like screaming school kids any more, as they quickly approached adulthood now and somehow that had liberated them. Even Neville had stopped chasing runaway frogs and had started showing great interest in girls. Well, he did have a great sense of humour after all! Someone would surely appreciate it! But he was so destructed with a red haired beauty that he didn't even notice Hermione, who passed right in front of him. But she was in such a hurry that she didn't stop either. Well, they would see each other throughout the year after all. It was Harry and Ron she craved to see. Or was it Ron and Harry? Gosh, she had surely missed them! But, somehow, she had spent more time during summer thinking of Ron...  
  
Hermione had changed and she wanted to make sure everybody noticed that. All these years she had been quite indifferent to everything else but studying and having dangerous adventures with her two best friends that she seamed to have lost a great deal of things. She had never had a boyfriend. Not that she never had the chance! She had been quite a catch for years now, but she didn't seem to care at all. In her opinion, boys were boring and immature. Well, Harry and Ron were fascinating, she had had the time of her life when she was with them, but they were just friends, well, at least they had been just friends, until now. But now she had started to feel bad about it. Not regret it, of course. Her grades wouldn't have been as high if she had fooled around with boys. But now she really wanted to make up for all the lost time, she wanted someone to notice her. Someone to care. Someone to see just how special she really was!  
  
Could it be Ron? She somehow knew he wanted her. It had been obvious since their second year that he fancied her, even if he never showed... She knew that he cared. So did Harry of course. They would do anything for each other, like the three musketeers! But Ron would always do so much more. And he was always bragging in front of her! And she had even caught his jealous glance at times that she had been closer to Harry. No, Harry might have been an extraordinary guy, but maybe he was too perfect. Everyone was talking about him and he had always reached everyone's great expectations. But Ron, he was more... hum... Well, whatever it was that attracted her, she surely couldn't explain! But she had spent some time during the summer thinking of him. She even missed him, in a not so friendly way. In her complex brain Ron had changed, from a childhood friend to an interesting young man. She couldn't tell if she was just imagining it or it was a fact and this was intriguing her even more. Was it her mind playing games? What could she except from him? And even if he was interested in her, he hadn't said something in all these years. Sure, she had some hints, but that was all. What if he cared but was too timid to express himself? What if he considered her too distant to approach? It was true that she was pretty smart and she had more than grades to prove it. Could this have scared Ron away? Most boys would feel threatened by a very smart girl.  
  
Whilst pondering that, she reached the library. And only then she realized that she felt more anxious now that she would face them. Happy of course, but with an unexplained fear, or stress. "Oh, damn!" She had finally realized how beautiful their childhood years had been. Simple and true! And how different the new reality would be... They would never come back there and by no magical way could she relive them. It was gone for good now and she would have to go on.  
  
With those mixed feelings she pushed the heavy wooden door open and entered the library. Her eyes searched for her friends, but all she could see was school faces, some of them pretty familiar. It seemed that almost every last-year student had arranged to meet in the library. Maybe the last-year- thing was pretty obvious to everyone now and they had started to feel comfortable with their "temple of knowledge" And she did catch some eyes fixed upon her. The mini skirt and the lipstick had definitely made quite an impression! But now, somehow, she felt embarrassed by that. There were boys looking at her at that made her feel bad. She had been wrong. She didn't want to be noticed by anyone. Just a certain someone... And now she was almost feeling naked!  
  
She wandered around, covering her legs with her wizard cloak, searching for them. If she wouldn't find them in a minute, she would... well... leave!  
  
"Mione!" she heard and turned immediately. It was Harry. Boy, was she glad to see him!  
  
"Harry!" she shouted filled with joy to see her friend and fell into his arms, not noticing that she had been heard by everyone else in the library and everybody was looking at them now.  
  
"Well, where' Ron?"  
  
"Where's Ron? Hey, am I invisible here? I haven't seen you all summer and now the only thing you're asking me is where's Ron?" and then he smirked, the same boyish grin he had when she had first met him.  
  
"Hey, Hermione, if I didn't know you any better I'd say you really..."  
  
"Say what? I'm sorry Harry, it really is good to see you but, well, I thought you'd be stuck on each other, as usual! I mean, the picture of you alone is quite strange! You always appear as a duo!"  
  
"...missed him"  
  
"I missed you both, you nagger! Can you believe it, Harry? It's our last year!"  
  
"Yea... Last year indeed..."  
  
She noticed some depression on his face. What a blunder! Harry hated the idea, that was pretty obvious! Well, that was natural, of course. Harry's only family was Hogwarts and his friends. Well, apart from the Dursleys, but who would count those as family? He would hate to leave Hogwarts. She had to cheer him up.  
  
"Well, I suppose you've had enough of Ron all summer huh? So, no wonder you don't feel like being around him all the time!"  
  
She had definitely fixed it. Harry's face lightened up immediately. Even thinking about his holidays back at Ron's house made him happy! He popped up in a second!  
  
"Well, you know, I spent all summer at the Burrow so, you're right! I've had enough of him" he joked. "You know, he's started snoring... Gee, you wouldn't want to live with that. Maybe you wouldn't live through that! It was hell. I was lucky to survive!" He laughed as he spoke. It was the one thing, other than his smile, that he had kept from his childhood.  
  
She laughed at him, but deep down she still searched. Where was he anyway?  
  
"Hey you two! Thought you could avoid me for ever?"  
  
Whatever she had imagined about him was nothing compared to what was standing in front of them now. Gee, she didn't remember him being so tall! And he looked like a man already! He gave her a big smile before she was lost in his arms. "Herm! You've really grown!"  
  
Everything she had been thinking came back to her mind in a flash. He was holding her tight, but was he doing that on purpose? Was he trying to make a point? Or was it just physical strength? She had prepared herself for anything he might have said, but all he said was... that she had grown? Was that the best he could do? She raised her glance into his, smiling in her most innocent, friendly way, trying to figure if she could find another emotion hidden into his eyes. But there was nothing there, except great joy! Well, that was something!  
  
"Herm, we do have some catch up to do! You didn't send a single letter that last month! Hey, Harry! Take a look..."  
  
A group of Hufflepuff girls passed them giggling. "Check this out! Well, it is our last year after all! We should get to know well... new people! What about you Herm? Any romance during the holidays?" he questioned, in a teasing voice.  
  
Stupid! Stupid! How could she have been so wrong? How could she have thought he cared for her in that way? Gosh, was it all in her head? Maybe there wasn't anything there from the start!  
  
"Well, nothing big... really! Anyway, we do have to catch up! Why not leave it for later though? It's been a long journey and I'm shattered!"  
  
She wasn't tired, she was exhausted. She had come here with such expectations and this disappointment had finished her off. She had worn the mini skirt for Ron. And the lipstick! All for Ron... And she had walked through the school so arrogantly, like she was heading for a big date! It had all been in her head and her head only. And now she felt so stupid! Luckily she was able to hide everything behind friendly chitchat. After all she couldn't blame him for not falling in love with her in a second! Anyway, friendship was a better thing to have... or at least that's what she would try to convince herself...  
  
"See you later!" she said and left them.  
  
She headed to the Gryffindor dorm, looking down, counting the floor carvings. She wouldn't allow herself any more thinking. Enough of this! So what? She'd get over it! Now, it was her who didn't see Neville waving at her. She entered the dormitory and stayed there.  
  
Her invitation had been open to Ron. She didn't know it yet, but there was someone else who accepted it... 


	3. 2nd chapter

The sorting

The hall was full of students, chatting about their summer holidays in voices that proved just how happy they were to be back. After all, the sorting ceremony was something everyone seemed to enjoy. Except maybe from the newcomers, who were feeling quite uncomfortable with the whole thing. It was all a big mystery to them. Harry and Ron were actually having fun watching the new kids who were staring back at them with curiosity and awe. Hermione had remained silent since she entered the hall. She had stopped thinking of Ron, but her whole day was pretty much ruined by the morning's incident... Some late students were still arriving, taking their seats in the bright hall, as the teachers were getting pretty restless. A loud noise, coming from hundreds of mouths made the sorting a perfect reason for a headache.

Neville had tried to start a conversation with his red-haired object of desire, but without much success. So he turned instead, to Hermione, only to find someone even less eager to chat with him. She just sat there, looking at Harry and Ron. Where did she fit into this picture? They were supposed to be, well, a threesome! They had done everything together all these years after all... The most disturbing was that she understood... She couldn't feel bitter about that. They had been kids all those years and so, their interests had been pretty much the same. And, although they would never stop caring for each other, as friends, hormones were in charge now and, after all, Hermione wouldn't be the greatest audience for their new hobby. They wanted to meet girls… That she understood. And she had to learn to respect it. It had taken her more than six hours to figure that. Maybe she didn't suffer from a broken heart after all, after Ron's rejection. Maybe it was just a vanity thing. That was quite a relief on second thought. Maybe she should get to know other boys as well. She needed someone to understand her, someone who wouldn't feel intimidated by her brains... Her glance wondered around. To the other houses. Yes, why not?

Behind her were the Slytherin tables. Even turning to look at them caused trouble in the past. She couldn't remember staring at them, except when something was very wrong. But it was their last year, maybe they had matured too. _Yeah, right… that could happen…_ she mused. She turned and looked at them though, green uniforms with silvery knitted serpents. They looked quite nice actually, at least from a distance. Could they have changed? She wondered, but her mind reassured that that some people never change.

And then she saw him. And, to her surprise, his eyes were fixed on her.

He imprisoned her glance at once and for a moment she found herself unable to withdraw it. Through the distance everything else was lost. She couldn't hear anything but her pulse, rapid like a drum and her breath, or was it his pulse and his breath? She could see nothing else but his face, his bright blue eyes, his blond hair, shinning so beautifully under a thousand candles' light. "Herm, wake up! Pull yourself together. Stop staring. Stop it. Stop it!" Just like a magnet he had grabbed her eyes, he was controlling her.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts"  
"Teach us something please..."

The song came from nowhere. Draco withdrew his glance and her mind was released from the pull of his mind. It felt like pulling herself from a plug. She turned to her familiar faces, her lungs full of pain. She started singing along with the rest of the students, unable to focus though...

What had just happened? Had he used magic on her? Her mind shouted "NO!" but she turned once more. Who was he to scare her? But he wasn't looking at her anymore. Neither was he singing. He was telling something to Crabbe and Goyle and they were all laughing loudly. A sexist joke perhaps; that was the only thing one could expect from a Malfoy... And then he stopped talking, still not looking at her. But he seemed to have remained still, in that position, only to reveal a perfect profile for her to see. Somehow, without staring at her he could still measure her reactions, he could guess her upset expression... And he seemed amused by that. He could see her, without staring directly at her, she could feel that. And then he suddenly turned, and gave her a wicked but defiantly friendly smile. Electric!

She turned immediately. Her heart was beating. So loudly. She could hear it in spite of the tuneless singing. She didn't dare to look at him again for the rest of the evening though... And when the sorting was over, only then did she move. She hurried back to the dorm and almost fell on top of Neville, but didn't care to apologize. This had been too much for her for one day. She needed to sleep. She needed to rest her mind.

Harry noticed her though and he stared questioningly at Ron. Ron had seen the whole strange scene too, Hermione running away. They looked at each other silently. And then Ron's glance became so apologetic...

10 minutes later they were at the dorm. Ron seemed sleepy but there was something in Harry's eyes that implied that he wouldn't let him get away so easily...

"So, how much longer are you planning to keep hiding? It is obvious pal. She must have realized that you're hiding something. And she doesn't seem to be taking this so well..."

Ron was still avoiding Harry's glance. A silence followed, but he knew he had to say something.

"Harry, I... well, you know."

"No I don't, Ron! Why don't you explain this to me please?"

"We have talked about this over and over again! Why, it seems to have been your favourite subject all summer. I... like Hermione. I have liked her for years, you know I have. But, I don't know what to do. What if I make a mess of everything? We're best friends you know. What if that scares her away? You know how clumsy I am with these things..."

"Ron! First of all you are not clumsy. You do have a certain tact. Just take a little baby step at the time and everything will be fine. After all, I told you, she really wanted to see YOU today. I felt like Mister Invisible. She hardly even noticed I was there. And there was a sparkle in her eyes when she mentioned you. Well, the girl surely has some bad taste in men..." Harry grinned...that same boyish smile again.

"You silly ass..." Ron tried to look angry but he couldn't stop smiling...

"Are you sure Harry? I mean, I would love to do something, but I am not prepared to ruin our friendship if she rejects me."

"Am I sure? Ron of course I'm sure. 100. How can you question me? I am the infamous Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the I-know-it-all guy, the...."

"OK, OK! Just stop, please!"

But Ron didn't seem convinced yet...

"But she didn't protest at all when I mentioned those girls..."

"God! So that's what it was all about? Ron, for Pete's sake, that was your big plan? Gee... what did you expect? That she would turn jealous and fall over you and start kissing you passionately? Boy... I mean, just think of it. Of course she didn't react. She is quite discreet."

Silence followed his words again. But after a while Harry broke it.

"So, what are your plans now?"

Ron looked at the floor for a minute. And then he turned to him. Looking him in the eye wasn't that hard now...

"First thing tomorrow." he answered. "I will tell her that... Well, whatever I decide to tell her. I'll spend all night finding some clever opening line. Gee, and I thought I could sleep tonight. I could use the extra strength since we start with Snape's course tomorrow... Well, if I get lucky I will be too happy to even bother about him."

Soon enough the lights went off at the dormitory, leaving Ron and Harry to their thoughts. But Harry kept hearing Ron, whispering into the darkness. "Hey. Herm. Nice shirt. I mean, nice... your hair smell nice. And your eyes... your eyes are so... brown."

_That's hilarious. This is getting nowhere. Well, maybe if she appreciates his sense of humour. Most girls would_. He thought.

Gosh, it would be nice to see them together. They were so different, but still, they would make a nice couple. They got along so well. Maybe they would marry some day and have babies. And Harry could visit and maybe they would let him be the godfather of one of their kids. Just like his parents had let their best friend be Harry's godfather...but before Harry could think of that anymore he blocked it from his mind...those memories were too painful for him to think of.

_Hey, wait a minute. You have taken this too far. What's wrong with you anyway? Why aren't you going first thing in the morning to ask Herm to marry Ron, so that you can be happy? Arggg... You'd better sleep before you think up something really stupid! _Harry thought to himself.

But Harry and Ron weren't the only ones thinking of her that night. Somewhere in the school, into the Slytherin dorm, a pair of grey eyes was fixed on the ceiling. His glance revealed nothing; he had learnt to hide his emotions since he was a child. _He_ had taught him that, Lucius. Even now, that he was alone in his bed, he showed nothing. Only his fists were tight. And through his teeth it came: "Mudblood, you fuckin' Mudblood!"


	4. Lucius's demand

3rd Chapter

Lucius's demand

Draco had spent the worst summer of his entire life. Back at the Malfoy Manor, everybody seemed to be angry with him, for some reason, making him feel guilty. His father always looked at him with cold grey eyes whenever they would run into each other, and would say nothing. But the word disapproval was written all over his face. Lucius had never been so hostile towards his son in the past, causing Draco to spend hours wondering what was wrong. Had he done something to displease him? But he couldn't think of anything. And although, it should have been easy to avoid him, regarding the size of the manor, they kept bumping into each other, and, unfortunately, Lucius always had his way with people...

If he wanted to make you feel like dirt, he could do so without even saying a single word. But his mother was also avoiding him. Draco was sure that his father had something to do with that. He could blame him for everything, and almost all the times justified. Draco was beginning to feel depressed. He hoped that Lucius wouldn't keep being like this all summer long. But Draco was wrong.

It went on for weeks. And the boy was beginning to feel disgusted with his father, and when he thought this couldn't get any worse, Lucius proved him wrong. It all started one evening.

Draco had been spending too many hours in his room. If he didn't get out, he'd go mad. He gathered up all his courage; he would go out, even though this meant that he would have to pass through the living room, and his father used to sit there at this time of the day.

What the hell? He was getting used to it. Lucius had become predictable, Draco knew that as long as he kept his mouth shut, everything would be all right, or at least, he hopedt so. He wouldn't go looking for trouble. If his father decided so, he would start a quarrel, for all he cared.

The boy unlocked the wooden door, and rapidly ran out of his room. His eyes caught a slight movement behind the heavy green curtains in the hallway. Just as he had thought... He didn't even bother to search or to go see what that movement was. Predictable again, Lucius had his little house elves spying on him. Draco smiled sadly. He began recollecting his happy days back at Hogwarts. Well, at least there, he was the bully. Now, he had to suffer his father's silent terrorism.

He headed downstairs to find that the lights were on. As he approached the living room through the hallway, he could see the silver lamps, in the shape of serpents, spitting fire. Lucius' taste in decoration... He even insisted on using internal light, even when the sun was still shining. Like a vampire, he was forcing his family to live in the darkness. Draco had started to feel like a complete stranger there, in his own home. Somehow, for the first time in his life, the silver carvings, the austere, gothic decoration seemed ridiculous in his eyes. Everything, from his bed to his socks reflected Lucius' taste, and he had never questioned his father. Never, until now… But even now he didn't dare to do so openly. Maybe, if he entered his father's study in a Gryffindor uniform one day. No, that would just give him a heart attack, and he would probably survive through it, just to punish his son.

"Draco!" he heard the all too familiar voice, and _Wow, what a surprise_ His father was indeed in the living room. Wearing a green silk robe, holding a silver decorated book. He was sitting on a luxurious velvet armchair, with knitted silver snakes. The perfect lifestyle of an arrogant, pure-blooded wizard with perfect furniture, expensive clothes... It was so obvious. Lucius pretended that he was simply enjoying a quiet afternoon at home, but Draco saw it coming. His father was about to start a fight.

"Father." he answered, trying to hide his disappointment. His voice sounded clear. He didn't really feel like getting into a fight right now, but Lucius, like a guarding dog could always smell the fear coming off him, he could hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes, and if Lucius smelled his fear now, he'd attack, like any beast would do.

"Please sit."

"No thank you, Father. I was actually getting ready to..."

"Please sit, Draco!"

This was not an invitation. Lucius' voice was gentle, but yet, in a way, so cold, so harsh. This was an order, and Draco decided to obey, not that he had another option. The sooner they would get this over with, the sooner he'd be free to leave. He prepared himself for a long pompous speech. Draco sat on the most comfortable sit he could find and waited.

"This will be your last year at school, Draco. Do you know what this means?"

_That it is my last chance to have some fun, before I devote myself to your destructive ambition..._ he thought, but this was a father and son conversation. The truth had no place...

"No, father, I don't."

"No, I didn't suppose you would," Lucius familiar disappointed expression reappeared at once. "After all, I cannot be the one to brag about how proud I am of my son because it seems that even muggles have a greater reputation than my heir."

Lucius' words were poison; slow drops of poison, forced into Draco's veins. Not killing him of course, just torturing him. He hated it when his father referred to him as if he was someone else, a silly worthless boy starring in an indifferent tale.

Pleased at his son's expression, which Draco was unable to hide any more- he continued, "You see, Draco. Being a pure-blooded wizard demands a life of certain standards. One must be famous for such a position. Extinguished, highly esteemed. Now, tell me Draco, is there something I have mentioned that could possibly apply to you?"

Draco remained silent, his head bowed, but now he wasn't so sure he could go on like this. He felt like exploding. And Lucius was holding him down, controlling him.

"Not a single word." he went on mercilessly. "Well sure, everybody is talking about Harry Potter, and even this Weasley kid is sharing some of his fame. Sidekick? Yes! But also well known. All this I can accept, though. I will simply persuade myself that maybe, my son is not the respectable wizard I tried to raise. But then, Draco, the Granger girl comes to my mind. My son, lower than a mudblood?"

Draco was staring at the floor intensely. If his eyes had any magical powers, he would have set fire on the carpet already. He breathed in angrily, which sounded like a sob to his father, but Draco had predicted that before his father, so he decided to fight him back. _OK, if it is war you want, it's war you'll get! _

Lucius was staring at him, quite pleased with himself, but then Draco looked at him calmly and spoke back.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

Lucius wasn't expecting that. He thought he had drained every bit of his son's self-restrain. He really hoped that Draco would just explode, or get really depressed. He had prepared himself for both cases. He would forget his nice manners, and treat his son anyway he pleased, but Draco had proved to be much stronger. Lucius wanted his son to preserve the reputation of the family name, but most of all he wanted to hold him under his control, and now he was losing that.

"I want you to be someone. I want them to talk about you in years to come. I want them to remember you. I want everyone to know who my son is. That is what I want!"

He shouted the last sentence. He couldn't restrain himself. Lucius had lost control of himself, _revenge at last._ Draco bitterly thought. But then, he didn't like seeing his father like this...

Draco stood up. He looked directly into his father's eyes, his voice calm and indifferent, just like Lucius used to talk,

"All right, father. This year, everyone will start talking about your son. I promise you that." And, as if he had just said the most natural thing in the world, he simply turned and left the room.

Lucius was left there, silent, and too upset to react. What had just happened? Draco just left. Without asking for his permission. He just turned his back to him and left.

For the next days, they didn't meet. Draco started feeling that it would be more possible to run into Dobby, their former house elf, than Lucius any more. A heavy silence had fallen into the house, but the boy reassured himself that it was better that way. He didn't provoke Lucius. Draco dined in his room and spent most of his time there. Sometimes, he would move the heavy curtains slightly and look outside at the garden, and the scary stone statues. Lucius had kept the statues there, although the boy feared them so, when he was younger. The wizard wanted his son to get over his fears for the monstrous forms that seemed to move at night. So many years had passed, but Draco still remembered crying all night, scared and alone. In the mornings, Lucius had a perfect explanation for all of this.

"This happens for his own good..."

Draco thought that even if he had died in his room, no one would probably notice for days. Maybe only the elf, which brought his supper...

The house elves had stopped spying on him.

Having nothing better to do, he remained in his room, locking himself inside, and doing nothing. He didn't even want to think anymore.

Draco only went out, the day he had to leave for school. He had lost his colour. He wandered around the dark house as a ghost, finding nobody. He went out, revealing his pale skin to the sunlight, still hoping that someone would come to him, but neither his father, nor his mother came to see him. Only the house elves that carried his luggage saw for the first time, their young master, sadder that ever, waving at them. Was that goodbye?

Draco left, silently cursing Lucius for depriving him of any bit of pleasant memories, something to grab and remember, a vivid image of a home, not a cold stone house. And as he lost sight of the manor, he felt he was leaving everything behind for good...


End file.
